Yes No Maybe So 'Downhill'
Monday, December 23, 2019 at 11:07PM 
They went and remade Ruben Östlund’s brilliant Force Majeure (2014) with Juia Louis Dreyfuss and Will Ferrell and called it Downhill. The story, as those of you who saw the original know, is about the repercussions on a marriage after the husband cowardly runs away from the sight of an avalanche, leaving his wife and children to face it alone. The original was a funny smart satire about manhood and patriarchal responsibilities in the modern age.
After premiering at next month's Sundance Film Festival, the movie will be released on February 14th. Let’s give the newly released trailer the YES NO MAYBE SO treatment.
Yes
Landing Julia Louis Dreyfuss as the pissed off wife and mother is a coup. She seems particularly suited to this part; shown in the trailer tightly wound and seething with barely concealed anger. The part plays to her strengths as a comedic actor. Also, do you remember how wonderful she was in Enough Said (2013)? Now that Veep has ended, we’d like to see her in more movies.
No
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What is the purpose of this remake? The original is great and very recent and can be rented and watched anytime. Looks like an unnecessary remake. Read subtitles; it’s not that hard.
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This remake looks like it’s taking the same beats and even the same locations of the original. What have they added? How have they deepened the story? Writer-directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (The Way Way Back, The Descendants) take on the material is unclear from this trailer.
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This story at Valentine’s? Why Fox Searchlight? That’s an odd date and February is usually dumping ground.
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If you watch just the trailer for the original, you’ll know this is not a good idea.
Maybe So
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Will Ferrell seems like an obvious choice for this man-child. Will he give the part any new shading beyond his well honed comedic mannerisms?
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They kept one actor from the original, Kristofer Hivju (Tormund on Game of Thrones). Hope it’s more than a cameo.
Reader Comments (24)
Absolutely NO
I don´t understand the idea of doing remakes of films from another countries because this tendency is not exclusive from Hollywood.
In México it have been done a lot of movies and series that are originally from Argentina and that really piss me off, specially when the original work is good enough.
I was not interested in seeing the American version of Le Diner de Cons and Miss Bala and I'm not gonna waste my time watching this.
Mostly agreed, although the themes of the original are perhaps more relevant in 2020 than they were in 2014. Here's hoping the filmmakers do something interesting and fresh with the story. Bringing Hivju back to reprise his role makes sense--he delivered the standout performance in the original--but it doesn't bode well for a fresh take on old material.
Didn’t know this was even coming. Still praying for the Toni Erdmann remake
Please don't
Absolutely not.
Yes for JLD alone
1. No!
2. Why?
Julia Louis-Dreyfus is a yes, but otherwise no. Can we get another "Enough Said"?
After being robbed for Enough Said I'll give this a gander for JLD. Although when I watched the original when it came out I found the comedy to be very lacking. Came across as a drama to me, but everybody else was touting it as otherwise. Lost in translation maybe? To see the story with the comedy actually hitting it's marks hard might be worth the remake in english.
I know (I think) that it wasn't intended towards my dyslexic self, but that first 'No' had the tone of the bullies in school with it's harshness. Such an unexpected visceral flashback. I'm looking forward to seeing this story without subtitles and with an exceptional actress who could really knock it out of the park in a singular way.
I'm a tentative yes unless it gets terrible reviews. I would enjoy seeing Force Majeure redone by these actors and directors (The Way, Way Back was good, and I think Ferrell is a good actor). They are probably releasing this in February because it's a winter story but not an awards contender. I know I'll be glad to see a new release that interests me arrive by then.
This is O/T, and I know Nathaniel is very busy with all the comment nonsense, but I can't believe we haven't done one of these for In the Heights! It looks fantastic.
My Will Ferrell aversion will make this a No.
Unnecessary remake, as much as I like JLD. Also, aren't they a bit too old to be playing parents to tweens?
Of god! So so awful!!
A big fat NO!
Looks like another pointless Gloria Bell remake. Movies about bad vacations with Will Farrell are a hard no.
I've always wondered why JLD doesn't do more films... she's hysterical
I’m a Maybe So because we need more movie roles for JLD. Everything else about this worries me.
No.
All the trailer did was make me want to watch the original again. This is why I am glad the Toni Erdmann remake was dropped.
I don't want to say no because of JLD but the fact that it's a remake and it has Will Ferrell playing his usual schtick as he's seems to be regressing as of late. I will go with a no. Plus, Force Majeure is just one of those films that doesn't need a remake.
Force Majeure is probably one of my favorite films of the decade and this version seems to have dumbed down everything from the tone, the message, the acting and even the shots. Maybe it’ll be seen by more people, but if it’s bad, then what’s the point?
I’ll say yes but only because of Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Otherwise I’m not interested at all.
That Movie Title......Enough Said.